


long weekend

by superstringtheory



Series: College/Grad School AU [1]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Common Cold, Fever, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Meet the Family, Meeting the Parents, Sick Character, Sick Klaus Hargreeves, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-07-30 21:55:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20104222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superstringtheory/pseuds/superstringtheory
Summary: College AU.Klaus comes home with Dave for a long weekend to meet the family, but ends up getting sick. Normal Suburban Katz family to the rescue!





	1. Chapter 1

“Wau-keisha?” 

“No, it’s Waukesha. Like the singer. Kesha. But say it all together.” 

“... Oh. Okay. I think I get it now.” Klaus smiles and Dave squeezes his hand briefly. 

“I know you’re just going to avoid saying it now so you won’t say it wrong.” 

“I will do no such thing!” Klaus puts on an affectation of offense, but he’s still smiling. 

Dave finds his hand again. “I’m so glad you’re coming home with me for the long weekend.” 

“Me? Miss seeing a normal family interaction? I’d never.” 

They’re on the bus to Wisconsin from Iowa City, Iowa- ready to meet Dave’s family for the first time. Sure, they’ve briefly met on a game day when Klaus and Dave met them up in Madison for a Badgers/Hawkeyes showdown, but that wasn’t the same thing as  _ meeting the family _ . This time, it’s a long weekend and Klaus is coming home with Dave to stay overnight and meet his Bubbe and his eight-year-old little sisters and even their grumpy old dog. 

It’s a long bus ride- but it passes fairly quickly. Dave and Klaus share a pair of earbuds and watch a few back episodes of  _ Brooklyn 99 _ until Klaus insists that he absolutely  _ must  _ do just a little reading for class next week and Dave sighs but doesn’t complain. 

It’s cute to watch when you’re dating someone who gets to invested in their work that they can focus on it on a jouncing Megabus going down 151. 

What’s even cuter is watching Klaus (his Klaus!) get all nervous and flustered at meeting Dave’s parents and twin sisters, who are there to meet them in the parking lot of the Park N Ride. 

There’s a flurry of hugs and introductions and then they’re on their way to the Katz house (“don’t laugh at the giant Packers flag out front,” Dave has already warned Klaus). 

Dave’s parents let Maggie and Tess give Klaus the grand tour, and Dave can almost see the sag of relief in his boyfriend’s shoulders at seeing how  _ normal _ their house is. Dave hasn’t been there, but Klaus has told him umpteen stories about the weird old mansion he’d grown up in, and it’s never sounded like anyplace Klaus would want to call home. 

So far, so good on the Katz house- Dave’s mom had given Klaus a bone-crushing hug and proclaimed him “too skinny by half” and his dad had given a firm handshake but told Klaus that he was very glad to welcome him to their house. Maggie and Tess are instantly enamored, and even old Buster the mutt takes a shine to him-- when Klaus crouches down to say hello, the dog gives his hand a sage lick and Dave thinks that his mom might burst into happy tears right then and there. 

“You know Buster always has a good intuition about people!” Dave can hear his mother whisper into his dad’s ear, and he can’t help himself from smiling. 

This weekend is going to be good. He just knows it. 

*** 

After dinner, Dave realizes that there’s something a little weird. His normally rambunctious, bouncing-off-the-walls boyfriend is unusually quiet, sitting on the couch and scrolling through his phone. He looks up and smiles a bit when he sees Dave looking at him, but he seems exhausted. 

It’s probably just coming off of midterms, Dave hopes. Klaus has been working for one of his anthropology professors, helping to lead discussions in an intro-level class and grade scantrons, plus his own coursework on top of that. He’s been working on his grad school applications, too, and Dave loves to see his brow furrowed in concentration as he types away. 

“Hey there.” Dave says in greeting, and Klaus breaks into a bigger smile. 

“Hey.” Klaus clears his throat a little. “Sorry, tickle in my throat.” He pokes at the phone once more and sighs. “Ugh. Of course Trubek is using the long weekend to get started on a new project.” 

“Oh really?” Dave puts his arm around Klaus’ shoulders. “That’s good for him, but you don’t need to do anything right now, you know that?” 

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Klaus fingers his phone, then turns it over, screen-side down on the couch cushion. “I just… I want him to write me a good recommendation letter.” 

“I know he will,” Dave soothes. “You’re a great student, Klaus. You’re going to get into grad school wherever you want to go.” 

“Ugh.” Klaus scrunches up his face and rubs at his eyes. “God, I hope so. I can’t imagine having to go back to Mansion Hargreeves and have my father be right about my quote-unquote useless anthropology degree.” 

“Shh,” Dave says. “It’s okay. That’s not going to happen.” 

They’ve had this discussion what feels like a thousand times- Klaus is terrified of having to go back home to his family’s cavernous house and be told that he should’ve gotten the STEM degree his father was willing to shell out for and not the liberal arts one he wasn’t. 

“Okay, okay.” Klaus shakes his head a bit like he’s clearing out some dust or something. “Now, didn’t you tell me something about hot chocolate?” 

So they’re not going to get into this talk again now. That’s okay; Dave thinks there’ll be a better time and place-- but he also hopes that Klaus will be able to relax this weekend. He’s been working so hard and Dave can’t remember the last time he really just slowed down. 

It’s fun to see Klaus interact with his family- his little sisters seem especially entranced-- Tess has already whispered in Dave’s ear that she “really likes Mr. Klaus’ outfit.” 

Dave agrees with her- Klaus’ outfits were one of the first things he noticed about him. Well, the outfits and his smile. 

The evening winds itself down after Tess and Maggie go off to bed. Uncharacteristically, Klaus says that he’s ready for bed only a half hour later. He thanks the Katzes for their hospitality and tells them he’s looking forward to the rest of the weekend and all of it makes Dave’s heart kind of want to burst out of his chest, but in a good way, not an  _ Alien _ kind of way. 

Dave’s about to follow Klaus upstairs when his dad catches him by the elbow. Dave waves Klaus on and mouths ‘I’ll be there soon.’ 

“So, Dave,” his dad starts, and Dave already knows where this is going. But then his dad says, “Klaus seems like a very nice boy. I’m so glad you brought him here to meet us.” 

His dad pats him on the shoulder and smiles, and there’s a lot more in his eyes that he’s not saying, but Dave knows that they’ve reached a major milestone. 

He goes to sleep smiling, thinking about the weekend ahead.

***

Klaus wakes up  _ freezing _ . He blearily peers at his phone:  _ 2:50 a.m. _ Jesus. He carefully rolls over to see Dave sleeping peacefully, and for a brief second he feels a green flame lick of jealousy in his heart- if only  _ he  _ could keep sleeping like that. But of course he’s awake now and suddenly feeling very ill and this is  _ the _ absolute worst timing. 

Well, it isn’t exactly…  _ sudden _ , if he’s perfectly honest about it. He started getting a headache by the time their bus was on the outskirts of Iowa City, and there’s been a scratch in his throat since they crossed the Wisconsin border. 

At first he thought that it was just being tired- it’s been a really busy semester and he hasn’t been great about giving himself breaks except when Dave makes him close his laptop and come out to the local dive bar to people-watch or to that cute little café down the street that makes those amazing green smoothies. Klaus swears they’re the only way he will willingly eat kale, in any form. 

In any case, this time it’s not simple fatigue- after they got to the Katz house, Klaus couldn’t really fool himself anymore that he wasn’t getting sick. The telltale signs were all there: the scratchy throat; the random ache in the ankle he sprained when he was twelve; the sinus headache. He just thought that maybe karma didn’t hate him enough to fuck him over on the first weekend he went to meet his first real boyfriend’s family. 

As if. 

So now it’s 3 a.m. and Klaus is carefully climbing out of bed and into the bathroom that adjoins Dave’s childhood room. There’s a soft green light emanating from a nightlight near the toilet and Klaus uses it to squint into the medicine cabinet, praying to find some kind of painkiller. 

Karma must not be ready to go all the way yet because there’s a bottle of Tylenol in there, so he’s only halfway fucked. Klaus dry swallows two and then surveys his dim reflection in the mirror. He looks sick, but maybe that’s just the lighting. 

He climbs back into bed next to Dave, who makes a soft snuffling noise as Klaus touches his foot by accident, and hopes that the Tylenol will fend off whatever this is. He’ll just wake up at a normal time in the actual morning and feel rested and rejuvenated and whatever other shit people who get eight hours of sleep feel. Sure. Yeah. Totally gonna happen. Those people probably eat kale in all its forms and love it, those fuckers. 

*** 

When Dave wakes up, at first he’s excited to see that Klaus is still asleep- he’d seemed so exhausted last night, Dave’s just glad that he’s catching up on some sleep. 

  
However, when it’s 9 a.m. and Klaus has yet to appear, he gets a little worried. He excuses himself from the breakfast table (which is more like the vintage Polly Pocket home base at this point, as Maggie and Tess have spread their garage sale loot out on the table and are making neighborhoods of tiny little horses and even tinier dolls) and goes back upstairs to check on him. 

“Oh, you’re awake--” Dave starts, then stops as he steps fully into the room. He turns and closes the door behind him, then quickly moves to sit on the edge of the bed. 

“Oh,  _ honey _ ,” Dave says. “You’re sick.” He uses the back of his hand to feel Klaus’ forehead and finds it dry and too warm. 

“You got me there.” Klaus breaks off in a little cough, dry and irritated. “Ugh. I have the worst luck, huh? Finally get the guy and get to meet his family and I’m Typhoid Mary.” 

“Actually-” 

“Oh, fuck off, I know she was an asymptomatic carrier. You know what I mean.” Klaus looks annoyed, but there’s no real heat behind his words- Dave knows that he’s just frustrated at this ill (pun intended) timed complication. 

“Okay, so… what do you want to do about this?” Dave asks. 

“What do you mean, ‘do’? I’m fucking sick and I’m going to make a terrible impression on the rest of your family and they’ll never want me to come back here.” 

“ _ Klaus _ …” 

“You know what I mean!” 

Dave does. He takes a moment, pats Klaus’ leg, and says, “I do. But hear me out. What if, this time, being sick wasn’t the worst thing that ever happened to you? What if you got taken care of instead of fending for yourself? I know you, Klaus, and I know that’s what you do. You go and hide in your room for days until you feel better and don’t let anyone see you at less than your best. So how about this time you let the Katzes show you what a sick day is supposed to be like?” 

Klaus considers. He sniffles, then sneezes harshly into his elbow. Sniffles again. 

“... Okay. Fine.” 

*** 


	2. Chapter 2

Klaus’ family is a diaspora. After his favorite brother died in their teens, the rest of them scattered. As in the parable of the sower, some had more success than others. 

Klaus’ sister Allison got a medium sized break out in Hollywood and stars on a supernatural-themed daytime soap opera as a siren. The only time Klaus sees her these days is on billboards in skimpy swimwear, mouth open like she’s calling drivers on the highway to their deaths. 

His two remaining brothers, Luther and Diego, are studying aerospace engineering and criminal justice, respectively. Klaus occasionally sees them on school breaks but as he rarely goes back home anymore, it’s been a while. He figures they’ll be graduating soon, same as him, but he has no idea what their plans are. He guesses Luther might want to join NASA or the Air Force or something; he’s always been good at following rules. Diego’s probably going to be a cop, and Klaus thinks it’ll work well for him, though he can’t imagine having such a rigid job himself. 

His final two siblings are more of a mystery- last Klaus heard, Vanya moved out to Oregon or Washington or something and got herself a girlfriend and a bunch of flannel shirts. Good for her. Their other brother, the one with the nearly unpronounceable name they’d always called Five, went missing when they were kids and never turned up again and wasn’t  _ that _ a media circus. Their dad seemed to want them to be the next von Trapps or Brady Bunch and couldn’t understand why they didn’t all fall in line. 

It makes sense to Klaus that now they’re all metaphoric leaves on the wind- that kind of upbringing either brings you close together or tears you apart, and in his family’s case, it was certainly the latter. 

So this whole Katz family dynamic is pretty much blowing his mind by the minute. 

After Dave realizes that Klaus is sick, Klaus watches as his boyfriend leaves the room for a few minutes and returns with a few supplies: a box of tissues, a thermometer, a glass of cool water. 

“Lemme see what we’re dealing with here,” Dave says, motioning for Klaus to take the thermometer in his mouth. 

Dave continues talking to Klaus while they’re waiting (and Klaus is a captive audience, given that he can’t exactly talk while he’s holding a thermometer under his tongue), saying that someone called Bubbe is already making something called matzo ball soup and that Tess and Maggie have a surprise planned for him. 

“I really don’t need anything,” Klaus protests as Dave takes the beeping thermometer and looks at it. 

Dave ignores him. “One-oh-one. You’re over a hundred percent, babe.” He leans over and presses a quick kiss to Klaus’ forehead. “Want me to get you some more Tylenol or something?” He gets up and starts heading for the bathroom. 

“You don’t need to do that,” Klaus says. “I’m not an invalid. I can get up.” 

Technically true, sure. But  _ jeeezus christ on a cracker  _ when did his head start to feel like a cone of cotton candy, probably from that calorific abomination of a Wisconsin State Fair Dave had dragged him to this past summer? 

It seems to take a truly monumental effort, but then he’s up and moving and on his way to the bathroom. Dave hovers around behind him like some sort of very concerned shadow or ghost of a Civil War nurse. 

“Really. I’ll be fine. Just let me--” Klaus breaks off to cough roughly into his shoulder, then continues. “Just let me take some drugs and then I’ll be okay soon.” 

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Dave looks a little sheepish. “My dad’s going out to Walgreens to get you some cold medicine, too.” 

Klaus opens his mouth to protest again but Dave shuts him up by kissing him full on the mouth. 

“Relax, babe. Just let us take care of it, okay? Okay.” 

*** 

The thing is, Klaus has never really let Dave see him be sick before. They’ve been dating for almost a year now, and Dave  _ knows _ that Klaus has been sick during that time, but he’s never been witness to it in full effect. Klaus has always holed up in his apartment for the weekend, claiming that he has too much schoolwork to go out. By the time Dave sees him again, he’s just a little sniffly or has a slight cough. 

It’s like he thinks that Dave won’t want to bother with him if he’s at suboptimal health. His own dad didn’t want to deal with him even when he wasn’t congested and feverish, so why would Dave want to when he was? 

“Here,” Dave says after Klaus has finished swallowing some more pills, wincing at himself in the mirror. “Why don’t you get dressed and then we’ll see how that soup is coming, yeah?” 

Klaus shrugs. He makes no movement to get his things out of his bag. 

“What’s wrong?” 

Klaus sighs, and Dave can see him curling in on himself. 

“Hey.” He takes Klaus by the shoulders and tilts his chin up with a finger. “Talk to me.” 

“Ugh.” Klaus sighs again, and the sound seems to irritate his lungs, and he turns his head away to cough. “I’m just embarrassed,” he mutters when he regains his breath. 

“Oh, Klaus.” Dave pulls him in closer for a hug. After a moment, Klaus relaxes and lets himself sink into the embrace. 

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Dave reassures. “I’ve got two sisters in elementary school, remember? No one here is upset by a cold.” 

“I guess.” Klaus sags against him, and Dave gives him another quick squeeze and then releases him. 

“C’mon. Nobody will be upset, I promise. They just want you to feel better. Okay?” 

Klaus sneezes, looks utterly upset at himself for showing such weakness, then agrees, congestedly. 

“Fine.” 

***

So maybe Dave was right and there might be something to this whole ‘letting yourself be sick and not hiding yourself away in your studio apartment for 72 hours until your fever breaks’ thing. For one, he’s never felt this comfortable before when he’s been sick. 

The Katzes have him all set up on the couch in the den like it’s his own little enclave and they keep bringing him things on trays and asking him if he needs the thermostat turned up. It’s adorably domestic and god, what Klaus would give to know that he could have this for himself, anytime. 

What must it be like to grow up in a family like this? One where everyone holds hands around the dinner table and little girls are allowed to leave their toys spread out on the floor as long as no one is tripping over them, and where being sick isn’t a sign of your inherent weakness. 

The matzo ball soup is delicious, and Dave’s Bubbe made what seems to be a gallon of it. Dave’s mom keeps insisting that Klaus needs more fluids and refilling his mug of herbal tea whenever she notices it getting low. 

They all watch a movie together- Klaus honestly can’t even remember which one; he falls asleep about ten minutes in and wakes up disoriented after it’s over, headachy and feeling like he needs to sneeze but not wanting to do it in front of this perfect Midwestern family. 

He sits up, dislodging a throw blanket someone must’ve put over him (could’ve been any of these people- they’re so kind to him it almost hurts). He glances at his watch- it’s past 3 p.m., and how could he spend basically the  _ entire day _ lying here getting in the way of this nice family? He’s sure they probably have better things to do than take care of a sick college kid who should be able to fend for himself. 

“Dave?” His voice comes out scratchier than he expects, and he coughs to clear his throat. God, how embarrassing. He’s not sure anymore how Dave convinced him that this would be okay; that there’s any way he can look these people in the eye again. 

There’s movement in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room- Klaus blinks a few more times to try and clear the fuzzy feeling from his head. 

“Hi, honey. How are you feeling?” 

It’s Dave’s mom, of  _ course _ . 

“Where’s Dave?” Klaus says, and immediately feels rude. He can literally feel his cheeks getting warm. “I’m sorry. I just…” 

“Don’t worry,” Mrs. Katz says. “Dave’s just out in the garage looking at his dad’s new car. I can go get him, if you want?” 

“No, it’s okay.” Because apparently even a three word sentence is too much to handle, Klaus starts coughing again, and it feels like there’s some sort of Lovecraftian horror ready to spill forth out of his chest. The common cold is certainly an eldritch being Klaus wishes he’d never come in contact with. 

“Uh---  _ oh _ .” Suddenly Mrs. Katz’ hand is on his forehead. 

“You feel pretty warm,” she notes. “Do you want some more cold medicine?” 

He does, but he also wants to go hide away from where anyone can see him like this- this pathetic, weak excuse for a son who can’t even manage to study the right subjects. 

Klaus has a plan, though- so he patiently sits through more medicine and soup and tea and a sweet little play the twins enact on the living room floor. 

He tells Dave and the family good night early, and feigns sleep when Dave crawls into bed next to him. 

Once he’s sure that everyone is asleep, Klaus picks up his already-packed overnight bag and quietly sneaks out of the bedroom. 

Klaus just knows that this can’t last, no matter how nice it is. That’s what he tells himself when he slips out of the house to meet the Uber at the curb. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~~ angst ~~~ 
> 
> What, you mean growing up with Reginald Hargreeves for a dad wouldn't give you tRUst IssUeS??


	3. Chapter 3

He’s already back in Iowa City by the time he realizes he’s really fucked up, and there’s essentially no way to fix it now. Klaus lets himself back into his shitty studio apartment and immediately regrets coming back here. 

It’s 7 a.m. and so far he’s ignored two calls and voicemails from Dave since 6:30, and there’s a bunch of text messages he hasn’t read, either. 

His phone vibrates again, and Klaus closes the door behind him before swiping to answer.

“Hey.” 

“Don’t ‘hey’ me.” Dave’s voice is sharp, and he sounds a little breathless. “Klaus. Where. The fuck. Are you?” 

“I’m back in Iowa.” His voice sounds small, hoarse. He probably has a fever again, or still has one; he’s not sure. Time has melted together- taking a 2 a.m. Megabus will do that to you. He feels hot and cold all over and it’s not just the guilt crawling up his throat. 

“Iowa. Seriously. Iowa?” Dave’s voice is cutting Klaus to ribbons. “Why the fuck would you go back to Iowa?” 

“I’m sick,” Klaus says, like this is enough. 

“I know you’re sick. That doesn’t explain why you left my parents’ house in the middle of the night and went back to Iowa. Jesus  _ Christ _ , Klaus, do you have any idea how worried we’ve all been about you?” 

“... Uh. No?” 

“No? Seriously. I know you had a fucked up childhood, but that’s not really a great excuse.” 

“Dave, I--” Klaus has to break off to cough and it feels worse than it did before. It feels like it takes him forever to catch his breath again and when he does, his voice is wrecked. He doesn’t dare try to clear his throat though, or the whole cycle might repeat itself. “Dave, I’m so sorry. I just-- I panicked. I’m a flight risk, you know that.” 

“Hm. I guess I do.” Dave’s voice is still a knife edge, but maybe Klaus can work to blunt it? 

“I think I just… didn’t know how to be taken care of, you know? I’m so used to doing it myself and there was so much attention on me and I got overwhelmed and couldn’t take it anymore so I had to leave.” 

Dave sighs. “Klaus, I get what you’re saying, but I also think that there were a few steps you missed in between ‘feeling overwhelmed at attention’ and ‘taking a middle of the night bus back to Iowa.’” 

“I think I should sit down for this conversation,” Klaus says. At this point, he’s been up for what feels like days- he knows that’s just the poor sleep quality he’s been getting what with this infernal cold and taking a middle-of-the-night bus. 

“Okay,” Dave says. “And maybe get yourself some tea or something. You sound like hell.” 

Klaus swallows guiltily- if he’d stayed in Wisconsin, he’d probably still be tucked into Dave’s bed underneath the handmade quilt Bubbe had made, and someone  _ else _ would be making him tea and asking him if he needed anything and making sure he took his medicine.

“Okay. Just hang on a minute. I’ll be back.” 

Klaus sets the phone down and goes to the kitchen to heat up a mug of water. As he’s dunking the teabag up and down, all he can think is that if Dave stays with him after this, he should probably start thinking about asking him if he wants to move in together. 

*** 

Dave’s not sure if he’s ever felt as panicked as he did this morning, 6:20 a.m. He’d rolled over, half-asleep, expecting to come into contact with his boyfriend’s arm or leg or back, only to find… empty blankets. 

He’d sat up quickly, instantly awake. He’d pulled on sweatpants and a t-shirt and checked the bathroom: dark and empty. 

His parents weren’t awake yet, but after checking the living room, kitchen, and dining room and finding no boyfriend in any, Dave had stopped caring about how much noise he was making. He’d quickly called Klaus’ phone- no answer. He’d sent several text messages- no response; no little dancing ellipses to ease his mind. 

Dave had left a voicemail, and as he was in the middle of calling Klaus a second time, his mom had appeared in the kitchen doorway. 

“Dave- are you okay?” 

“It’s Klaus. He’s missing.” 

His dad had gotten up soon after, and the three of them had carefully but quietly cased the house for Dave’s errant boyfriend. 

Just as Dave’s dad had been getting ready to drive around the neighborhood and his mom had her finger on the landline to dial the police- Klaus had picked up. 

So Dave’s not entirely thrilled with him at this moment, to put it mildly. 

Klaus comes back on the line. He makes a snuffling, congested sound that should be gross but isn’t. 

“I’m sorry,” he apologizes, consonants metamorphosing. He sighs. “My face hurts.” 

Dave makes a little sound of sympathy- he can’t help it- and most of his anger evaporates. Even though he’s still upset at Klaus for pulling a disappearing act and going radio silent, he knows that there are clearly some issues they’ll have to work through. If he’s truly honest with himself about what he knows about Klaus’ upbringing, he can see why Klaus freaked out at the Katzes’ caretaking. 

“You should go back to bed,” Dave suggests. “We can talk this through when I get back tomorrow, when you’re not coming off a midnight bus ride.” 

“You’re sure?” Klaus sounds surprised, like he had already been steeling himself for the worst; like Dave would break up with him over the phone. 

“Yeah. Just… take it easy until I get back to Iowa, okay? No researching for Professor Trubek. Binging TV only. Got it?” 

There’s a scuffling sound up against the phone and then the noise of Klaus sneezing. 

“Ugh, fuck. My whole  _ head _ hurts.” He sniffles, and Dave can’t wait to put his arms around him again, to hold him tight and let him know that no one is ever going to just leave him alone to suffer through anything, even something as relatively mild as a head cold. 

There’s silence, then: “Do your parents hate me?” Klaus wants to know. 

“No,” Dave assures him immediately. “No one could hate you, Klaus. They were just concerned, but they understand. And they want you to come back for Thanksgiving in a few weeks.” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah, really.” Dave feels a smile spread across his face. “Now go back to sleep, babe. I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll bring tissues.” 

***

Klaus can feel Dave’s smile through the phone. It’s contagious, just like this illness. 

“Okay,” he says. “I’ll need them.” 

*****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have ideas for another work in this AU, so don't worry, this won't be the last you'll be seeing of anthropology student!Klaus and his long-suffering sweetie of a boyfriend, Dave. :)

**Author's Note:**

> I'm from Wisconsin and listening to [non-natives try to pronounce Wisconsin town names](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGcQCtFlENA) is one of my favorite things. 
> 
> Special thank you to [painting](https://archiveofourown.org/users/painting/pseuds/painting) for encouragement and mutual love of Wisconsin idiosyncrasies. 
> 
> I'm on [tumblr](https://superstringtheory.tumblr.com/) so if you want to call me or beep me you know where to reach me.


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